Texas governor orders national guard to deploy for protests in San Antonio

Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, said the state’s national guard ‘will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order’. Photograph: Elías Valverde II/AP

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has ordered the state’s national guard to deploy to the city of San Antonio ahead of immigration-related protests planned for this week, saying the soldiers are “on standby”.

Abbott posted on social media early on Wednesday that the national guard “will be deployed to locations across the state to ensure peace & order. Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest.”